Electronics manufacturer AVX Corp. will pay $1.2 million to the owners of 42 properties in Myrtle Beach where groundwater contaminated by the toxic degreaser trichloroethylene was discovered, according to a preliminary settlement approved this week by a circuit court judge.
AVX used the degreaser — commonly known as TCE and used to clean machinery — for decades and state regulators have said the groundwater pollution migrated from the manufacturer’s property to the surrounding neighborhood, but the company did not admit any liability in the agreement.
The agreement — which comes nearly seven years after a class-action lawsuit was filed against the company — still needs the approval of property owners, who will have a chance to voice their feelings during a court hearing Dec. 8 in Conway. The agreement also comes at a time when significant progress is being made to clean up the pollution.
Kurt Cummings, AVX’s chief financial officer and spokesman, could not immediately be reached for comment. Gene Connell, the Surfside Beach lawyer who filed the class-action lawsuit on behalf of property owners, called the agreement “reasonable” and said it could put an end to litigation that promised “to go on for several more years.”
Marjorie Hewitt, who owns two pieces of property in the contaminated area, told The Sun News she was surprised by the agreement.
